Sets Goal to Emphasize the Organization’s Global Work in Research and Education
As the 2015 president, Medicine & Science for the American Diabetes Association (ADA), Samuel Dagogo-Jack, MD, director of the Division of Endocrinology in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), hopes to “shine a light on” the organization’s work in diabetes research and education around the world.
Dr. Dagogo-Jack is now the co-principal spokesperson for the organization, along with the president, Health Care & Education, on matters of science, care and education concerning the disease, which currently affects more than 370 million and is estimated to affect 592 million worldwide by 2035.
“Sadly, low- and middle-economy countries are projected to experience the steepest increases,” Dr. Dagogo-Jack wrote for the Diabetes Stops Here blog published by the ADA. The world looks to the ADA and sister organizations to define the tone and pace for research and care, he added.
“It will take novel international partnerships to make this happen among underserved communities in the United States and across the globe, but it must be a priority,” he wrote.
During his one-year term, Dr. Dagogo-Jack is also a member of the board of directors of the ADA, which is the nation’s largest voluntary health organization leading the fight against diabetes. The association comprises more than 441,000 members, including people with diabetes, their families and caregivers; 16,500 health care professionals; and 800 staff members.
Dr. Dagogo-Jack has volunteered with the association for more than 20 years, and has worked in various leadership capacities on the national and local levels. He has served on the ADA’s Legal Advocacy Council, the Scientific and Medical Advisory Group, and the journal Diabetes Care as associate editor. In the local community, he has been a tireless advocate for education, prevention and care for those at risk of diabetes and those with the disease.
Dr. Dagogo-Jack, who directs the Endocrinology Fellowship Training Program at UTHSC, graduated from the University of Ibadan Medical School in Nigeria, completed residency training in internal medicine at the Royal Victoria Infirmary at the University of Newcastle, United Kingdom, and was certified as a member of the Royal College of Physicians in London. He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in medicine at the University of Newcastle. He completed postdoctoral fellowship training at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.
He has been elected to the Association of American Physicians, an honorary medical society, and Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow with Distinction of the American College of Endocrinology, and an active member of the Endocrine Society. In 2013, he was honored as the National Medical Association’s Internal Medicine Section Physician of the Year.
Research by Dr. Dagogo-Jack, the A.C. Mullins Endowed Professor in Translational Research at UTHSC, focuses on diabetes prevention and prediction in multiethnic populations. The work is supported by the National Institutes of Health and an award from the ADA.
To read Dr. Dagogo-Jack’s full blog post, visit https://diabetesstopshere.org/2015/01/21/dagogo-jack/.
The American Diabetes Association, celebrating its 75th anniversary, funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; and provides objective and credible information to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information, call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org.